COOKEVILLE, Tenn. – You had better listen carefully when
Mike Sutton talks about the NCAA tournament bracket. His pace
quickens. He's familiar with every team in the field.

His hoops knowledge -- not only about the teams, but also the
coaches, the sites, the individual players, the matchups, the
upsets -- pours forth. He makes it sound as if March Madness is the
best time of the year.

"No, when your own team is playing is the best time of the year.
This is the second best time," he explains.

Sutton, who recently wrapped up his eighth season as Tennessee
Tech head coach, also served his second year as a voting member on
the Regional Advisory Committee for the Division I Men's Basketball
Championship.

"It's an honor that they think enough of me to ask for my
input," Sutton said. "I consider it a compliment from the NCAA on
my background and my experience."

With the newspaper spread on his desk in front of him the day
after the NCAA announced this year's 65-team field, it was
difficult to get a word in as the veteran coach touched on nearly
every game with some insight.

Asked to identify the two most interesting first-round matchups,
he pointed to Cornell and Sienna as having potential for upsets.
Bingo, he was right on both accounts.

He also liked Murray State's chances against Vanderbilt, even
though he considered the Commodores the toughest No. 4 opponent in
the field.

Another game he said would be interesting was California against
Louisville, because their styles were so different.

Not that all of the teams Sutton liked would advance. Take
Minnesota, for instance.

Still, the way he spoke about the teams, almost without taking a
breath in-between games, made it clear he knew his stuff. It made
him a logical choice to help in the selection process.

As a committee member, Sutton voted throughout the year on the
rankings of the teams in the South region. He looked at roughly 100
teams from nine conferences, including the Sun Belt, Southern, Big
South, Southland, Big 12, Southeastern, Ohio Valley, Southwestern
Athletic and Atlantic Sun.

"This committee makes me look at a few more teams than I
normally would, but it makes me feel good that the teams I had
ranked for the South region are all in except Mississippi State and
Mississippi," Sutton said.

"We tried to look at the lesser leagues and se how their top
teams compared with teams on the bubble. The committee wants an
honest opinion of who are the best teams, and I think we provide
that," he said.

Selecting the tournament field is something Sutton is happy to
take part in.

"It's something I'm interested in, so I'm glad to serve on this
committee. Obviously I'd like to be participating and our number
one goal is be in the tournament," Sutton said.

"That's my goal. Playing in the post-season is such a great
opportunity for our kids, not only the student-athletes but also
for the kids who go to school at Tennessee Tech. You can't buy that
kind of experience for the folks at the university, so it would be
special to give them the opportunity to do that," he said.

This year's Golden Eagles reached the semifinals of the OVC
Tournament before falling to Morehead State in Nashville.

"We took a good step toward that this year, winning on the road
at Austin Peay in the first round the OVC Tournament," Sutton said.
"Now we need to take that next step.

"About one-third of the teams on our schedule were in
post-season play. I think we were right there with only two
seniors, so I'm excited about this team for the future."